D’Urban Park and D’Urban Backlands are named after Sir Benjamin D’Urban, appointed Governor of Demerara-Essequibo in 1824. He became, with the addition of Berbice in 1831, Governor of British Guiana from 1831 to 1833. D’Urban Park was home to Guyana’s most famous horse racing track. I remember when, still a child, I was taken there […]
Tag Archives: history
VENEZUELA ESCALATES THREAT TO GUYANA
Triggered by the decision of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on December 18, 2020, upholding the Court’s jurisdiction to determine the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award establishing and defining the border between Venezuela and British Guiana, Venezuela has predictably escalated its threat to Guyana’s sovereignty. The Secretary General of the United Nations, under […]
BLOOD ON THE RIVER
The Berbice Slave Rebellion of 1763 is a seminal event in Guyanese history, commemorated by Guyana’s most famous work of sculpture at the south eastern entrance to the Georgetown city centre. Republic Day and Mashramani celebrations take place in February. The Rebellion’s lessons of the enduring quest for freedom, the display of statesmanship and courageous […]
HAD RODNEY LIVED, GUYANA WOULD NOT HAVE FACED THE CURRENT DILEMMA
Guyana, and indeed the world, has moved on in significant ways since June 13, 1980, when Walter Rodney was assassinated. From an authoritarian dystopia, where opposition political activists, particularly of the WPA, were invited to make their wills, where political activists were imprisoned, harassed or killed, where the economy was bankrupt, where the press was […]
PHANTOM VOTES
Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act is quite clear. It requires the Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, in the presence of persons entitled to be present, to “ascertain the total votes cast in favour of each list in the district by adding up the votes recorded in favour of the list in accordance […]